Rainfall pattern changing due to climate change: WB

HYDERABAD: The visiting World Bank mission members have said that the Kohistan region is a water-deficit area where life and livelihood is dependent on rainfall, and the rainfall pattern is changing due to climate change significantly.

They further said that it is expected that more extreme weather patterns are going to take place such as droughts and floods. The high-level World Bank mission, led by Task Team leader Ahsan Tehsin and senior disaster risk management specialist, visited and inspected the Lat-01 flood detention dam at the Lat basin near Malir in the Kohistan region in Sindh on Monday.

The other World Bank mission members included Nihan Rafiq, disaster risk management specialist, Yunziyi Lang, climate change specialist, Yoko Okura, disaster risk management specialist, Amna Memon, Mishka Zaman, senior social development specialist, Sana Ahmed, environment specialist, Moritz Meyer, senior economist, Christina Wieser, senior economist, and Farah Yamin Khan, Shahid Sohail, Syed Kashif Gilani, Shoaib Siddiqui, Shams Jaffrani, Aijaz Shaikh.

The World Bank mission also included representatives of Economic Affairs Division Azam Khan and Ms Iqra Khan, and Planning Commission representative Asghar Halipoto.

Zahid Hussain Shaikh, senior water resource specialist, Nasir Panhwar, social safe guard specialist, Shaikh Ahmed, and Aqeel Ahmed of the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project of the Sindh Irrigation Department also accompanied the World Bank mission. The mission members also visited the Sindh Emergency Service Rescue 1122 station in Hyderabad.

The WB mission was briefed by Ghulam Asghar Kanasaro, project Director SFERP (planning and development components), and Abid Jalal uddin, project director Rescue 1122 project funded by the World Bank, during visit ot Hyderabad Station.